Liner, a South Korean global AI search startup, has secured KRW 27 billion (approximately USD 20 million) in Series B2 funding as it aims to lead the global AI search market. This round brings Liner’s total raised capital to KRW 44 billion (approximately USD 32.5 million).

Completed in just two weeks, the funding round was led by Atinum Investment and Intervest, with participation from Samsung Venture Investment and LB Investment. Existing investors, including Capstone Partners, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), and SL Investment, also joined in with follow-up investments.

Liner explained that its strong performance in attracting major funding stems from its proven competitiveness and technical capabilities in AI search services. Since launching its highlighting service in 2015, Liner has accumulated data marked by users as important, allowing it to develop unique technology that delivers highly relevant and high-quality search results. In 2023, Liner became the first Korean company to introduce AI agent technology and developed its own large language model (LLM) optimized for source curation, ensuring trustworthy AI search services.

One of the main reasons for this investment was Liner’s growing business traction, particularly in the U.S. Currently, the company operates in over 220 countries and has amassed 10 million global users. Over 60% of its paid subscribers are in the U.S., and the number of active subscriptions there has grown 13.5 times in the past year.

Liner’s AI search doesn’t just deliver accurate answers—it also provides reliable sources for each response, giving users a way to verify the search results. By using its decade-long accumulation of highlighting data, Liner first selects high-quality sources and then generates precise answers, addressing issues related to hallucination in AI-generated responses. Users can validate the accuracy and relevance of the AI search results, significantly simplifying their information-gathering process.

Jaewook Kim, Vice President of Atinum Investment, said, “Liner’s data and technological leadership in AI search is unparalleled. We’re confident Liner has what it takes to become a global leader in AI search, which is why we chose to invest. We will provide multifaceted support to help Liner achieve groundbreaking innovation in the global market.”

Liner CEO Jinwoo Kim added, “Our source-curation technology provides users with reliable answers, delivering clear value as an AI search service. With this funding, we’ve been recognized for our technological prowess and competitiveness. We will continue refining our service, investing in talent, and ramping up domestic and international marketing to dominate the AI search market.”